Fence mounting device and associated hardware

ABSTRACT

A fence mounting device suitable for mounting a fence element to a fence post is described. The fence mounting device includes: a fence post receiving body; a fence attachment means mounted on the fence post receiving body for attaching the fence element; wherein the fence post receiving body is adapted to mount the fence element in a barrier position on the fence post and an access position on the fence post. Other aspects of the invention described include a clamp and a cleat to facilitate attachment to the fence post in the barrier and access positions, and for facilitating attachment of the fence element. Preferably the clamp includes teeth disposed in a skirt.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to hardware for use with fencemounting devices, and improvements to fence mounting devices themselves.In one application, sediment control fences are mounted by the hardwareand devices, however it is to be understood that this application is nota limitation of the scope of the present invention.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

It is often required to mount fences in a temporary manner, even fenceswhich have base portions or elements mounted in the ground. A commontype of fence includes a textile element or silt barrier which is usedfor sediment control from building sites, to contain soil and sedimenterosion. The textile element is often partially dug into the groundwhile an upper region is supported on posts. The upper regions of thetextile element are mounted by a fence mounting device and sometimes hasa ribbon along a top edge for tying of a cleat on the fence mountingdevice. A wire is sometimes present in the textile element, also alongits top edge, for reinforcement and tension of the top edge. The wiremust be held taut in order to maintain a degree of erosion control.Present mounting devices are difficult to mount and tension fences.

Also, it is often required to remove or lower or dismantle the fencesaround building sites to allow for traffic to move across boundariesaround the sites, which is not easy to do with known arrangements beingas the fences are often simply stapled to the posts. Even withribbon-and-wire mounted fences, the fence elements are not easy toremove from the posts.

The present invention seeks to ameliorate one or more of theabovementioned disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided afence mounting device suitable for mounting a fence element to a fencepost, the fence mounting device including: a fence post receiving body;a fence attachment means mounted on the fence post receiving body forattaching the fence element; wherein the fence post receiving body isadapted to mount the fence element in a barrier position on the fencepost and an access position on the fence post.

Preferably the barrier position is a mounting at an upper orintermediate region of the fence post and the access position is at abase position on the fence post.

Preferably the fence post receiving body is detachable from the fencepost in order to move between the barrier position and the accessposition. Preferably the fence element is a silt fence.

Preferably fence post receiving body includes a cap and a skirtdepending therefrom; and a clamp for clamping to a wall of the fencepost.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided aclamp for use with a fence mounting device, the clamp including: a skirtportion associated with the fence mounting device; a plurality of teethspaced apart from one another around or on the skirt, the teeth forengaging a side portion of a post, the arrangement being such thatsqueezing or other deformation of the skirt distends the skirt andseparates one or more teeth from one another, for receiving a postbetween the teeth, and releasing the skirt contracts the teeth towardsone another to engage the post.

It is also contemplated that the skirt teeth may be pushed against aside wall or flange or flanges of the post, so as to jam or dig into thewalls or flanges and thereby grip the post wall or Flange.

In one arrangement the teeth are adapted to engage walls of asquare-section post, although the teeth may engage T-posts, or starpickets just as easily. Any kind of post material is accommodated,including wood, plastic, steel, and the like.

Preferably a bight is provided in the skirt wherein the teeth aredisposed. The bight provides a clamping region, and a region formounting of teeth.

Preferably the teeth are disposed in a peripheral or circumferentialplane within which the skirt is in turn disposed. This provides teethwith additional strength and a simple manufacturing process.

In one embodiment the bight is disposed within the peripheral orcircumferential plane. In one form the bight extends into a mainperipheral skirt wall, away from a base edge of a skirt, to provideadditional flexibility of the skirt.

Preferably the teeth are disposed around a perimeter of the bight.

Major and minor teeth may be provided in order to provide coarse andfine adjustment in relation to different sizes of post cross-section andprofile.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention there isprovided a cleat for use with a fence mounting device, the cleatincluding: a boss extending from a skirt of the fence mounting device;the boss including a neck portion and a head portion, forming at leasttwo recesses adapted for looping or connecting or locating a ribbonaround the head or neck section; and a latch for closing a recessbetween the skirt and the head section.

Preferably the head is enlarged and elongate to provide deeper recessesfor secure tying.

Preferably the latch includes an elongate latch arm and a catch, at oneend thereof, for facilitating spinning the recess.

Preferably the elongate latch arm is hinged to facilitate easy access tothe recess. In one form the hinge is a fine flexible bridge of plastic.

Preferably the catch is releasable by flexing the head section, oroperating by a quick thumb-flick by an operator, to facilitate access tothe recess.

Preferably the hinge is disposed higher than the catch when in a lockedposition, so as to reduce the likelihood of catching on clothing orbeing injured in a fall against the latch. The arrangement provides theelongate arm with a downward disposition when in the locked position.

In one embodiment the boss is an anvil-shape, and it will be appreciatedthat that arrangement falls within the scope of the abovementioned neckand head sections.

According to still another aspect of the present invention there isprovided a fence mounting device including a cap having a base wall anda skirt depending therefrom, the cap including a mounting means formounting a fence clip, the mounting means in the form of one or moreapertures for receiving the fence clip and mounting it on or in the cap.

Preferably a plurality of apertures are provided, spaced around theskirt. Preferably the apertures are evenly spaced to allow adjustment ofthe clip relative to the fence mounting device.

Preferably a cleat is provided to attach the fence to the fence mountingdevice.

Preferably the clip is provided associated with the device, the clipbeing is distended to release or open the clip, and released so thatedges of the clip grip the reinforcing element or wire.

Preferably the fence mounting device is provided, which includesfeatures described above, such as for example: clamp; teeth; bight;latch; hinge and catch, in various combinations.

Spaced-apart flanges or headstones may be provided, spaced on a selectedPCD (pitch circle diameter) wherein broad faces face a longitudinal axisso as to provide a socket. This allows the fence mounting device toresist rotation when placed atop a post. Square posts, for example,engage the flat faces of the flanges. T-posts or star pickets haveflanges which engage the headstones by being placed in the spacesbetween adjacent headstones on the same PCD. Each headstone is taperedso as to grip varying star pitch flange thicknesses. The tieredarrangement of the headstones accommodates varying diameters of squarepost on the flat faces.

It will be convenient to hereinafter describe separate aspects ofpreferred embodiments of the invention in combination with other aspectsof the invention, but it is to be understood that the aspects of theinvention are not to be limited by the combination described.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to enable a clearer understanding of the present invention, apreferred embodiment will hereinafter be described with reference to theattached drawings, and in those drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a fence mounting device;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view generally from above;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view;

FIG. 5 is a plan view from underneath;

FIG. 6 is an isometric view generally from underneath;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are typical side elevation views of the fence mountingdevice shown in FIGS. 1-6, in latched and opened positions,respectively;

FIG. 9 is an isometric view generally from in front of the fencemounting device in situ, assembled to a temporary fence; and

FIG. 10 is an isometric view from generally behind, of the fencemounting device supporting a sediment control fence and a reinforcingwire element.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings there is shown a fence mounting devicegenerally indicated at 10 including a cap 11, mounting means 12, cleat14, and clamp 16.

The mounting means 12 is adapted to mount a clip 18 which is in the formof a pressed-metal clip, formed so as to flex and open when pressed byan operator to a release position, and so as to release to a lockedposition. In the locked position, edges of the clip 18 dig intoreinforcing wire 20 so that the wire 20 stays taut when mounted on thefence mounting device 10.

Ties 22 are provided to mount sediment control fence 24 to thereinforcing wire 20.

The mounting means 12 is in the form of apertures 26 in cap 11. Theapertures 26 are spaced around skirt 13 and spaced from a base edge orregion 65 of the skirt 13. Grip means 28 are provided to provide gripwhen tensioning the sediment control fence 24. In the embodiment shownthe grip means 28 are in the form of alternating ridges and valleys 29extending axially and spaced apart around the skirt exterior.

The clip 18 inserts into apertures 26 to mount wire 20.

To assemble the sediment control fence of FIG. 10, posts 30 are driveninto the ground. A ribbon may be disposed within an upper hem of thesediment control fence 24, and apertures may allow it to be withdrawntherefrom. The ribbon, or alternatively, ties 22, are tied to cleat 14.The cap 11 is driven onto stake or post 30. Socket 33 provides apositive abutment and engagement or locking between cap 11 and post 30.The socket allows initial tensioning of the sediment fence 24 byallowing quick lifting and turning of the cap to a new angular position,which is also useful if the fabric sags, or posts 30 fall or lean to oneside or other, or are dislodged.

Socket 33 includes tiered spaced flanges or headstones 36, whereingradually smaller flanges 37 are disposed at a smaller radius thanlarger flanges 39 (35 being the smallest). This arrangement allowssupport and engagement of different sizes and cross sectional shapes ofpost 30. That is, a cap 11 mounted on a small cross-section post 30would be able to descend onto the post 30 until the post was abuttingbase wall 41. The flanges 35 would, if the cross section of the post issufficiently large, inhibit rotation of the cap 11, as long as the post30 had non-circular cross-section. Square cross-section is mostconvenient. Larger diameter posts would abut a top edge 34 of flanges 35or 37, but the socket 33 would still be able to inhibit the rotation ofthe cap 11, due to front faces 38 of flanges 39. It can be seen that aquick tensioning of fence 24 can be effected by removal, twist andreplacement of a cap which is tied to an upper edge of the fence element24.

Multiple apertures 26 also facilitate this twisting and tensioning,because the clip 18 may be removed and replaced in a convenient aperture26 when tensioning has been effected.

It can be seen that tensioning the open fence element in FIG. 9 can beachieved in a similar way as above described, since an upper portion ofthe fence element is gripped in cleat 14.

Post 30 in FIG. 9 is shown as a star picket 31 which includes flanges 40radiating from a hub (not shown). The flanges 40 are received inrecesses 42 when the cap 11 is assembled on the picket 31. A socket 33for tightening is thus effected. A T-post would be similarly engagedbetween tiered flanges. Each row of tiered headstones or flanges aretapered to accommodate varying thicknesses of star-picket flanges. Thatis, the smallest flanges 35 are narrow in width and have side regionswhich are flexible which may allow a star picket flange 40 to flex theflanges 35 when applying the cap 11 to the star picket.

Snug or loose fit may be appropriate for socket 33.

Cleat 14 includes neck 15 and head 17, the latter of which is elongatedto show flanges 19 and 21. Flanges 19 and 21 define recesses 45 and 47for tying ties 22. Latch 50 is provided, including latch arm 52 andcatch 54. Hinge 56 is disposed above latch 54 when closed, so thatcatching or graze injury is avoided, and impacts such as from knucklesand shins are deflected gently. Clamp 16 is provided so that trafficacross the fence boundary may be accommodated, without permanentlylosing tension in the fence element 20. In use, to effect a gate, oraccess to another side of the fence barrier, the cap 11 may be liftedoff the post 30 or 31, and the cap mounted at a lower or base point onthe side wall of post 30 or 31, so that people or cars, diggers, and thelike may travel easily over the fence.

To mount the cap 11 on the post wall at the intermediate or base region,the cap 11 is rotated, about roll axis 75 and bight 60 is presented tothe walls of the post, skirt 13 is posted, squeezed and released, andteeth 62 engage walls of the post 30, or the skirt is simply jammed onthe post wall to ensure that teeth 62 or 64 bite into post 30.

Squeezing skirt 13 at front 77 and back 79 opens spaces between teeth 62and also varies the spaces between opposed rows of minor teeth 64. Thereare two mechanisms by which the teeth may grip walls of post 30 or 31.Firstly, teeth 62 may grip opposed walls when the skirt is released.Secondly, teeth 64 (minor teeth) may dig into opposed walls whenreleased into a lock position. That is, when squeezed at front 77 andback 79, parts of the sides of the base edge of skirt 13, particularlyin the region of the bight 60 in which certain of the teeth 64 aredisposed, tend to retract or withdraw towards the cap top wall 41 aswell as away from cylindrical axis. Then, when the front and back of theskirt 13 are released, the teeth 64 extend towards one another and alsoslightly extend so as to actually bite into a wall like a pair of jaws.Resilience of the skirt facilitates these two mechanisms.

Teeth 62 are cut back at a sharp angle so as to snugly receive outerends of flanges 40 when the cap 11 is in the rotated position, mountedat a base portion of the star picket 31 wall. Minor teeth 64, when thecap 11 is squeezed into an open position, are splayed outwards becauseof their disposition on the base edge of the skirt 13. When the cap 11is released into the locking position, the minor teeth 64 may dig intopost 30 walls which assists frictional engagement.

Finally, it is to be understood that various alterations, modificationsand/or additions may be incorporated into the various constructions andarrangements of parts without departing from the spirit or ambit of theinvention.

1. A fence mounting device suitable for mounting a fence element to afence post, the fence mounting device including: a fence post receivingbody; a fence attachment means mounted on the fence post receiving bodyfor attaching the fence element; wherein the fence post receiving bodyis adapted to mount the fence element in a barrier position on the fencepost and an access position on the fence post.
 2. A fence mountingdevice in accordance with claim 1 wherein the barrier position is amounting at an upper or intermediate region of the fence post and theaccess position is at a base position on the fence post.
 3. A fencemounting device in accordance with claim 1 wherein the fence postreceiving body is detachable from the fence post in order to movebetween the barrier position and the access position.
 4. A fencemounting device in accordance with claim 1 wherein the fence element isa silt fence.
 5. A fence mounting device in accordance with claim 1wherein the fence post receiving body includes: a cap and a skirtdepending therefrom; and a clamp for clamping to a wall of the fencepost.
 6. A clamp suitable for use with a fence mounting device whichincludes a cap having a resilient skirt, the clamp including: aplurality of teeth spaced apart from one another around or on theresilient skirt, the teeth for engaging a side portion of a post,wherein squeezing or other forced deformation of the skirt distends theskirt and separates one or more teeth from one another for receiving apost between the teeth, and releasing the skirt contracts the teethtowards one another to engage the post.
 7. A clamp in accordance withclaim 6 wherein a bight is provided which is disposed within the skirt,the teeth being disposed on a perimeter of the bight.
 8. A clamp inaccordance with claim 6 wherein the teeth are disposed in acircumferential or peripheral or skirt plane, in order to facilitateteeth strength and a simple manufacturing process.
 9. A clamp inaccordance with claim 7 wherein the bight extends into a main peripheralskirt wall, away from a base edge of the skirt, to provide additionalflexibility of the skirt.
 10. A clamp in accordance with claim 6 whereinmajor and minor teeth may be provided in order to facilitate coarse andfine adjustment, different clamping mechanisms and engagement withdifferent sizes of post cross-section and profile.
 11. A cleat suitablefor use with a fence mounting device, the cleat including: a bossextending from a skirt of the fence mounting device, the boss includinga neck portion connected to the skirt and a head portion mounted on theneck so that in use a ribbon attached to a fence may be looped or tiedaround the head and/or neck section; and a latch for connection betweenthe skirt and the head section to facilitate retention of the ribbon onthe cleat.
 12. A cleat in accordance with claim 11 wherein the latchincludes a latch arm and a hinge to facilitate access to the neck.
 13. Acleat in accordance with claim 12 wherein the hinge is a fine flexiblebridge of plastic.
 14. A cleat in accordance with claim 11 wherein thelatch is releasable by flexing the head portion of the boss, or by aquick thumb-flick by an operator, to facilitate access to the neck orspan.
 15. A cleat in accordance with claim 12 wherein the hinge or skirtend of the latch is disposed higher than the boss or outer or catch endportion when in a locked upright position, so as to reduce the latch'slikelihood of catching on clothing or injuring a person involved in afall against the cleat.
 16. A fence mounting device including a caphaving a base wall and a skirt depending therefrom, the cap including amounting means for mounting a fence clip, the mounting means in the formof one or more apertures for receiving the fence clip and mounting it onor in the cap.
 17. A fence mounting device in accordance with claim 16wherein a plurality of apertures are provided, evenly spaced around theskirt to allow adjustment of the clip relative to the fence mountingdevice.
 18. A fence mounting device in accordance with claim 16 whereinthe clip is provided associated with the device, the clip in use beingdistended to release or open the clip, and released so that edges of theclip grip a reinforcing element or wire.
 19. A fence mounting device inaccordance with claim 1 wherein spaced-apart flanges or headstones maybe provided inside the post mounting body, each flange or headstonebeing spaced on a selected pitch circle diameter wherein broad facesface a longitudinal axis so as to provide a socket, so as to facilitatethe inhibit rotation of the fence mounting device when placed in abarrier position atop a fence post.
 20. A fence mounting device inaccordance with claim 19 wherein flanges disposed on a smaller pitchcircle diameter are smaller in height to accommodate mounting to varyingdiameters of square post.